- 04 December 2007 -
Bright Design Challenge: A Cause Worthy of Your Support

By now I’m sure you’ve heard about the “Bright Design Challenge” (BDC), a cooperative college scholarship contest created to help educate future automotive/transportation designers and stylists about the benefits and flexibility of surface finishing. The initiative, now in its ninth year, has grown so much that it is ingrained in the regular curriculum of the Transportation and Industrial Design program at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit!

How BDC helps our industry: the program promotes new finishing technology and influences future automotive designs, with a focus on “bright” electroplated parts, including trims, grilles, and moldings. “Each year the concepts get better and better,” reports Mike Kuntz, creator of the program and general manager of Kuntz Electroplating in Kitchener, Ontario. In fact, he said many graduates of the College for Creative Studies/BDC program have gone on to work for major automotive companies, where they have integrated bright design into their concept vehicles.

It’s also encouraging to hear that the program continues to generate momentum. As I write this column, the BDC is eyeing a coast-to-coast expansion to reach different markets and customers by creating new challenges at other learning institutions. And while the primary focus of this initiative is the automotive sector, the program’s organizers and development partners have identified opportunities in other industries featuring the same kinds of finishes (such as motorcycle, marine, and even aerospace applications).

But like all great ideas and worthy causes, the BDC requires ongoing support and financial backing to sustain it. That’s why I’m calling for the industry’s players (suppliers, manufacturers, and finishers alike) to sponsor this great program. Potential sponsors have a choice of three different levels—Gold, Silver and Bronze—with corresponding financial commitments (see the “News & Briefs” section in this issue for details).

Given the current state of the metal finishing industry—particularly the dire need for the youth of today and tomorrow to get exposed to the business—it’s critical that we show our support for Bright Design and programs like it. After all, it’s initiatives like these that will help to ensure a bright tomorrow (pardon the pun) for our industry.

Past and current sponsors run the gamut from Atotech USA, Enthone, MacDermid, Process Technology, and Rohm & Haas to Taskem, Inc., Univertical, and Uyemura International Corp. General Super Plating Corp., Valley Chrome Plating, Sigma Plating Co., and Kuntz Electroplating have also supported the program.

For more information on how you can participate, please visit the website for the National Association for Surface Finishing (NASF) at www.nasf.org. Your support will go a long way toward promoting the benefits of electroplating technology to future designers and innovators while ensuring the viability of our industry.